Nutrition and the Effects on Student Behavior and Academic Performance in the Classroom

Abstract

Nutrition, behavior, and academic performance; these three words have a few commonalities. They each can be related to children. They each can be related to school and they each can be related to issues in education. The following research has found intriguing statistics that are useful when investigating or planning a classroom climate. It has always been said that breakfast is the most important meal of the day. It jumpstarts the metabolism and awakens he body. Along with this it helps curb the appetite before lunch. An early addition to school nutrition was the availability of breakfast before school. This was a benefit for students because it created less of a gap for those who did not have food at home and those that did. Behavior can be a trying issue in the classroom. Students who struggle with behavior are students who need extra help. There are many reasons that a student may struggle with negative behavior but, working 8 hours on school work on an empty stomach does not help the matters any. Hunger does not help with brain functionality or behavior. The studies cited provide evidence that while hunger and unhealthy eating habits are not the sole reason behind poor behavior and negative academic performance it does not help the matter either. Studies showed that students who were hungry or did not have adequate nutrition struggled greater at focusing and on short term recall than those students who were well nourished. By completing a search and literature review there was an outstanding amount of data and statistics to base a sound outcome.